Commercial Infrastructure Monitoring has evolved over the past decade as the Internet of Things (IoT) has become a reality. As much of a buzzword that IoT is, it certainly carries the weight of a technology revolution and is initiating massive changes in the way companies deploy and manage their network-based assets.

We talk a lot about “edge” and “smart” networked equipment as part of the overall digital transformation that corporate networks and equipment have undergone in the last few years, but rarely speak about why this evolution is important or how best to implement changes to future-proof network monitoring.

IoT has also initiated the need of bringing computing power closer to the edge to support those devices and services that companies rely on as part of their “always-on” offerings, and these services have drastically increased the sheer quantity of equipment that a network needs to monitor.

Take as an example the rapid-fire growth of edge data centers, the deployment of preconfigured mini data centers deployed anywhere in the world to support new latency-sensitive services that cannot fail. These services include network infrastructure monitoring for telecommunications, implanted medical devices, industrial machines, consumer-driven experiences with connected wearables, and a host of other technologies that embed more analytical services that require local data processing.

As consumers’ anticipation of services evolves toward an “always-on” expectation, network operators have the increasingly difficult job of making sure the equipment that supports these services remains healthy, and any potential issues are relayed before any failure happens.

Why is this important?

As Gartner covers in its blog article “The Edge Will Eat The Cloud,” the evolution of cloud data centers took a bite out of centralized data centers, and edge computing is set to take a bite out of cloud computing. Why? IoT equipment and services are designed to be always on, with rapid response time. They often are mission critical, requiring massive computing power and and infrastructure of cooling and energy equipment at the edge to keep them running; and using a cloud-only architecture or centralized data centers becomes costly, introduces latency, and has potential security risks, which is why we are seeing the rapid expansion of edge computing.

Unfortunately, managing distributed assets in real time is difficult, as many companies still rely on micro-level device monitoring systems and tribal knowledge to diagnose or predict potential system issues. Integration among these systems is often spotty at best, allowing little visibility across distributed assets and creating grey areas of concern at a time where companies cannot afford unexpected outages or delays.

Add to this a dwindling IT staff, a push to the edge with more networked equipment, and the inherent security risks—and the time it takes to research, integrate, deploy, and analyze the components in a commercial infrastructure monitoring platform. The investment of time becomes sizeable and potentially unmanageable.

How Modius and Intel can help

As the developer of the OpenData platform for commercial infrastructure monitoring, and a leading provider of solutions for validating energy and efficiency initiatives, Modius is constantly searching to partner with industry-leading technology solutions that reduce the complexity of equipment monitoring and that help our clients position themselves for the future. We are proud to announce that Modius is an approved Intel® IoT Market Ready Solution which offers commercially available solutions that address key business challenges, focuses on cutting through the underlying complexity of IoT, and facilitates the deployment of technology to accelerate market adoption and ROI.

OpenData and Intel are set to transform the industry by empowering network operators with a way to implement an end-to-end enterprise-class IT equipment monitoring system anywhere in the world in a matter of hours and implement cost-saving initiatives. For instance, a recent collaboration between Modius and Dell, and powered by Intel, the solution helped a Fortune 100 financial institution save over $2M annually by eliminating 24/7 staffing at remote sites and helped them achieve a higher level of accuracy for IT support services by implementing the Modius IoT solution. To read the full case study, download it here

The OpenData solution enables businesses to experience the benefits of IoT at the edge on a drastically reduced time frame by extending a pre-packed and market-proven solution that integrates easily into all mission-critical equipment, such as HVAC systems, power chain, environmental sensors, and IT equipment.

The OpenData Infrastructure monitoring platform includes pre-integrated software and hardware components, out-of-the-box integration into device protocols, and the processing power needed for edge-based machine health and efficiency analysis, all in one solution.

The Power of IoT, extended to you.

As the next generation of services expands out to the edge, and the need for more commercial infrastructure to support these services becomes a reality, OpenData’s IoT Market Ready Solution represents a massive opportunity for companies to gain visibility into the inner workings of their networked equipment.

By offering local equipment integration and data analysis of device efficiency and energy usage, operators for the first time receive a single-pane view of their entire distributed network – including HVAC system efficiency, environmental impact analysis, and predictive outages – all while receiving critical need-it-now information that operators need to maintain peak operating conditions.

About ModiusModius, Inc., is a leading provider of critical infrastructure management software and solutions for the IoT. Modius’ critical infrastructure solutions enable IT and facilities personnel to work collaboratively to lower energy costs, expand capacity, and improve the reliability and availability of all IT services. The Modius flagship product, OpenData, monitors all power distribution and cooling and environmental sensors across multiple facilities from a single console, providing intelligent operating decisions based on data from the IoT.